Chapter 13 13. Botsit Halma

When the heavy carved door, adorned with exquisite lotus flowers, clicked softly behind Morgan, he felt as if he had entered another world.It is by no means the first time he has set foot on a forbidden area revered as a "pure land" by powerful religious forces.He had seen the Temple of Our Lady, Hagia Sophia, Stonehunds (Stone Hands), Temple of the Athenaeum, Kornak, St. Pavel's Cathedral, and dozens of other temples and mosques of great renown.However, he always understood them as the frozen relics of the past—excellent specimens of art or technology with no connection to modern life.As for the religion that created them and backed them, that has long since disappeared without a trace.

However, time seems to stand still here.The storms of history just passed by this mainstay of religious belief without shaking it.The monks here continue to chant scriptures and worship Buddha, thinking about philosophy and welcoming the sunrise as they did three thousand years ago. The paving stone slabs in the courtyard had long been worn extremely smooth by the soles of countless pilgrims. When Morgan walked on these stone slabs, he suddenly felt a hesitation that was far from his nature.For the progress of mankind, he is ready to destroy all obstacles, even very old and precious things.For him these things were always incomprehensible.

Close to the monastery wall was a low bell tower, in which hung a huge bronze bell, which attracted Morgan's attention and made him stop involuntarily.His engineering discernment told him that the bell weighed at least five tons.Obviously, the clock is very old... The monk leading the way saw his curiosity and smiled knowingly. "This clock has a history of two thousand years." He said: "It was a gift from the tyrant Karidasa. At that time, we accepted it out of helplessness. It took a total of ten years to get it here—and the cost of it was a hundred lives." "What time of day does that bell ring?" asked Morgan.

"The origin of this bell has given it an ominous brand, so it is only rung when a great disaster occurs. Not only have I never heard the sound of this bell, even among the living people, No one has heard its sound. It once sang by itself during a major earthquake in 2017. And earlier - in 1522, when the Iberians burned the stupa and looted the holy relics. " "That is to say, it's almost never rang—and that's how many times it's been rang?" "Not more than ten times in two thousand years. It still has Karidasha's spell on it." "Obviously, this is a belief in religion, but it may be difficult to achieve in practice." Morgan couldn't help thinking.A blasphemous thought flashed through his mind: "In order to hear this forbidden sound that no one has heard, there must be many monks who could not resist the temptation to ring this bell lightly... ..."

They approached a huge stone sculpture carved with steps leading to a resplendent showroom.Morgan guessed that this was the highest peak of Mount Sri Konda.He knew that some kind of sacred object was hidden there, but the monk explained it logically without waiting for him to ask a question: "There is a footprint there. Mohammedans believe it is the footprint of Adam. He came here after being expelled from heaven. Hindus believe it is the footprint of Shiva or a Samana, while Buddhists of course do not doubt it. Footprints of the 'Prophet'." "I see that you speak in the past tense," Morgan said in a deliberately casual tone. "And what are people thinking now?"

"Buddha is also an ordinary person, just like me and you. Keshan Rock—that is a very hard stone—the footprints on it are two meters long." The monk did not answer Morgan's question directly. However, the words had already been said thoroughly, so Morgan did not ask any more questions.They walked down a short arched corridor and came to an open door.The monk knocked on the door, and without waiting for an answer from inside, invited the visitor into the room. In Morgan's imagination, Mahanayagai-Tello is an eminent monk sitting cross-legged on a futon, surrounded by a smoky incense burner and muttering chanting monks.In the cool air, there is indeed a faint fragrance, but the elders of the Sri Khanda Temple are sitting at an ordinary writing desk with a standard monitor and various memory devices.The only unusual item in the room is a slightly larger-than-life head of the Buddha.It stood on a pedestal in the corner, and it was unclear whether it was a statue or a hologram.

Although the interior layout is very ordinary, it is not enough to mistake the elders of the monastery for officials.Apart from the yellow cassock usually worn by Buddhist monks, Mahanayagai-Tello has two rare features: his head is absolutely bald, but he wears a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Amitabha, Dr. Morgan," said the elder, pointing to the only empty space with his finger: "This one is my secretary, Holy Balakalma. I don't think you would mind if he recorded our conversation." "of course not." Morgan nodded slightly to the other seated man.The young monk was a man with shaggy hair and a heavy beard.That said, shaving the head is no longer a monastic statute.

"So, Dr. Morgan, you need our mountain?" Mahanayagai-Tello said. "Don't dare to say that...Your Excellency Elder. Only that part is needed." "The world is so big, why do we need such a small place?" "I didn't choose this place, but nature. The ground station needs to be located on the equator, and it should be as high as possible, because the air is less dense there." "But aren't there taller mountains in Africa and South America7" "We have to start all over again." - Morgan thought annoyed.He knew from many experiences that it was almost impossible to discuss such complex issues in depth with a layman, which had nothing to do with the level of intelligence and interest of the other party.If the Earth's shape were ideally symmetrical, and the gravitational field had no dips or bumps...then this trouble would be entirely avoided.However, right now Morgan has to explain patiently:

"Trust me, we've looked at all the options, including Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Kenya and even Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa - although the last one is three degrees south, if Without a fatal flaw, it would be an extremely suitable location for us. Satellites in fixed space orbits are not always at one point. Due to the interference of gravity-I don't want to go into details- —It will slowly drift along the equator. In order to keep our satellites and the space station in strict synchronization, we must use fuel. It is true that the consumption of fuel is not very large, but it is not necessarily possible to apply this method. Keeping millions of tons of metal in place, especially since this is some thin beam structure tens of thousands of kilometers long. But, luckily for us..."

"It's not about us," Mahanayagai-Tello interjected sharply. "...there are two stable points in a synchronous space orbit. A satellite launched into these points will remain there forever, as if it were on the bottom of an invisible basin. One of these two points is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. and another point—just above our heads." "However, why can't it be a little bit to the side or to the left? A difference of a few kilometers won't make much difference. There are many other mountains in Taborobani!" Mahanayagai-Tello asked unequivocally.

"They're at least half as tall as Sri Konda. There's a lot of wind there. Admittedly, there aren't that many hurricanes on the equator, but they're more than enough to pose a threat to buildings. And, again, right at the weakest point. " "But we can control the wind." This was the young secretary's first interjection.Morgan glanced at him with interest: "It can only be to a certain extent. Naturally, I have consulted the monsoon forecasting station. They assert that there is no one hundred per cent certainty, especially with regard to hurricanes. In the best case, the certainty is fifty percent." One. For a multibillion-dollar design, that number is probably a little low." However, Santa Barakalma was not about to back down, and he went on to say: "There is an almost forgotten field of mathematics called 'Catastrophism.' It would make meteorology a science of real precision. I therefore believe that..." "The thing is," said Mahanayagai-Tello, conciliating in a mild manner, "that my colleague at some point in the past had a reputation for his work in astronomy. You've probably heard of Joe The name of Dr. Mu-Godsbell? . . . " Suddenly, Morgan felt as if the ground was shaking under his feet.Why didn't others warn him in advance? But he immediately remembered what Professor Sarat said: "Be very careful with Buddha's private secretary, he is not easy to mess with." Under Santa Balakalma's blatantly malevolent gaze, Morgan felt uncomfortable.The situation is awkward.He wholeheartedly intends to clarify the essence of the instability of the space orbit to the simple and childish monks, but in fact?There is no doubt that Mahanayagai-Tello had listened to even the most knowledgeable experts. As for Dr. Gottberg, Morgan remembers well that scholars all over the world had been divided into two camps: those who thought he was crazy, and those who did not quite believe it.Gottberg was once one of the most promising young astronomers, but five years ago he suddenly announced: "Now, with interstellar vehicles destroying all traditional religions, it is time to seriously study theological problems. gone." Then, he disappeared.